Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rayville, Louisiana 71269
Saturday, February 4, 2006 16:30 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 673-hour private pilot, who reported having accumulated 120 hours in the same make and model helicopter reported that while departing on his third flight of the day, into the wind, when approximately 40-feet above ground level (AGL) the helicopter suddenly "veered" to the right. As the pilot responded by applying full left anti-torque pedal, the low rotor RPM warning horn sounded. The pilot then lowered the collective control and applied aft cyclic control. With the helicopter quickly settling, the pilot pulled-up on the collective control; however, he was not able to arrest the high rate of descent. The helicopter landed hard and managed to remain in the upright position. The pilot and two passengers were uninjured. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, the temperature was 60 degrees Fahrenheit and the winds were from 300 degrees at 10 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain rotor RPM, which resulted in a hard landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/4/2006
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Rayville
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 71269
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 322512N
Event Location Longitude 0914510W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1550 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 290
Weather Observation Facility ID MLU
Elevation of weather observation facility 79
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19648
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Feb 5 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 30 2006 1:54PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office BATON ROUGE

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N744MD
NTSB Number DFW06CA066
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Robinson
Aircraft Model R44
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0259
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jan 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 5
Airframe Hours 1230.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DRAKES LANDING INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 269
Aircraft Owner City ARCHIBALD
Aircraft Owner State LA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71218
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Rayville
Departure State LA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2006 6:31PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --